In the Name of Equality: Jimmy Carter Leaves Southern Baptist Convention
Published July 21, 2009 @ 07:28AM PT
Jimmy Carter released a profound statement last week titled "Losing My Religion for Equality" about how he has chosen to leave his church, the Southern Baptist Convention due to the discriminatory practices toward women. Read through what he says below - it will certainly challenge anyone, of any faith, to reconsider how women are viewed in the eyes of the Church, and the eyes of God:
So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when th e convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This was in conflict with my belief - confirmed in the holy scriptures - that we are all equal in the eyes of God.
This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. It is widespread. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths.
Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries. The male interpretations of religious texts and the way they interact with, and reinforce, traditional practices justify some of the most pervasive, persistent, flagrant and damaging examples of human rights abuses.
I was raised Catholic. And, on occasion, I still go to church because it is a place where I can connect with my spirituality. I was lucky that I learned about religion in a very tolerant place - in San Francisco - where I really connected with religion through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius and was shielded from the type of language described by Carter above. I participated in a very progressive church - one that welcomed all people and didn't preach the marginalization of women or homosexuals. Clearly, this is the exception to the rule. Knowing the blatant discrimination toward women by religious institutions elsewhere always bothered me and I too have questioned from time to time whether I should separate from the Catholic Church based on the experience that Carter describes. It cannot be denied that there are many faiths that use religion as a "justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority" and he is right - it is truly unacceptable.
However, there are also many religious communities - even the Catholics - that do a lot of good in the world. I wouldn't be the crusader for equality that I am today had it not been for the teachings of social justice I learned while at Catholic school. And therefore, I have a hard time cutting out religion from my life even if I do disagree with some of it's policies - the fact that women can't be priests, the pro-life language, the rhetoric against gay marriage. For me, religion has generally been a way for me to have a sense of faith rather than a sense of indoctrination. In my experiences with the Church, i have learned far more good than bad; far more tolerance than intolerance; far more about how to love than hate. However, I imagine that if I witnessed the type of language that Carter faced in a church I was part of - I too would decide that it was time to separate from my religion.
What about you? What place does religion hold in your life? Would you ever lose your religion for the sake of equality?
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Comments (10)
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Jen Nedeau is a social media consultant, progressive activist, feminist speaker and writer. She currently lives in New York City, where she works full-time as the Director of Digital Strategy at Air America Media. In August 2008, Nedeau was selected to be the Editor of the WomensRights.Change.Org where she facilitates daily discussion about the feminist movement. Additionally, Nedeau volunteers as the Chief Technology Officer for New Leaders Council, a non-profit that offers exclusive training for young leaders. You can follow her on Twitter @HumanFolly or learn more here: www.jennedeau.com.
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I was raised Catholic. I wouldn't say I was incredibly devout, but I found religion in general intriguing. I went to a moderately traditional church in a small town. I never had to face outright harsh discrimination. I was even an altar girl. But it did always irk me that women were not allowed to be more than server girls or nuns. All of my friends were different denominations and I spent times at each of their churches and youth groups. The Presbyterian and Lutheran churches each had women pastors. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. So the Catholic Church's stance on women began to bother me more and more.
I spent a lot of time in the first years of college with a nondenominational church that I really enjoyed. But even that had its downfalls regarding women, and in how they treated other faiths. Overall, after I studied various religions around the world in college as a religious studies major, I realized it was a recurring theme to keep women out of the higher positions in every major religion. To me, that is completely inexcusable. And I got very tired of the same excuses others gave me to justify it- because God said so, because the Bible says so, because that's how its always been, etc.
So I guess I'm not making any huge statements here, but rather just agreeing with Jimmy Carter. I'm glad he's been able to see the injustice created by all religions and that he's doing what he feels will make a difference. If everyone who thought their church was wrong about something actually took steps to fight back against that thinking, maybe all different religions would rethink their stances on women, homosexuals, and their political involvement in various issues.
Posted by Kate F on 07/21/2009 @ 08:58AM PT
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I think it's important to realize the distinction between faith and religion - faith being more the spiritual principles that you operate from whereas religion is more mechanical practice.
I have very little to do with religiosity these days. I live in the Southeast and frequently feel like a religious pariah in my community but I don't really mind it that much - people tend to understand me more if they stop and listen. I grew up in several different Christian denominations and I don't really attend any church now - but I still believe quite firmly in Jesus and his teachings of love.
I think about my FAITH frequently and my lifestyle/decisions (struggling for equality) come as a direct result of my faith. But, I have really cut out a lot of RELIGIOUS practice from my life for the sake of equality - i.e. attending any kind of service or Bible study close to never because some of the messages and gender stereotyping are pretty galling.
My faith urges me to care about these things. Religious practice (including legalistic expectations of the Southeastern church) depresses me so I avoid it.
Posted by Jesse Demonbreun on 07/21/2009 @ 10:14AM PT
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I totally agree with you. Religion is often the twisted, corporate being created by man that feeds off the faith of its adherents. Of course, it's hard for any religion to exist longer than one generation with it becoming organized and strctured, but that very organization and heirarchy are what inevitably turn it into something it was never intended to be.
And thats why I can't apply myself to any one religion. I survive on my own faith in something I can't understand and leave it at that. I will try and keep myself from being so egotistic as to say I know and understand "god" and thus can do what it wants me to. That's how things have been working for too long with men at the helm. I have general ideas and I study information to learn more, but I wouldn't say I'd fit into any religion's box very easily.
Posted by Kate F on 07/22/2009 @ 07:32AM PT
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My respect for former President Carter has suddenly skyrocketed to previously unfathomable levels. This is certainly the type of leadership America needs more of. Unlike President Obama's statement that he wrestles with his faith over the issues of gay equality (a concept his church openly embraces), essentially showing no leadership at all.
Posted by Fred Frankenberg on 07/21/2009 @ 11:00AM PT
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I have belonged to two major religions and I too, have learned many things of value in both. I'm pleased to say that in the religion that I converted to, there is more recognition and respect for women...at least in the reform version. But I do not let relegion limit my beliefs or determine my vote.
I have always respected former President Carter (think how much better the environment would be now if we'd continued his policies). I can understand how difficult this decision must have been for him. I believe he typifies the best of Christianity. I hope his act encourages others to rethink their beliefs and to act with the same moral courage he has encouraged. He is truly a leader and a man of true faith.
I have never felt that men were qualified to determine my life...not even great men of compassion.
Posted by Julie Greenspan on 07/21/2009 @ 12:30PM PT
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In 1992...After about a years worth of soul searching and reading the bible with the intent of getting a clear idea of the attitudes and personalities of both jehovah and jesus...And after examining my feelings about the hypocrisy I saw in the charismatic church I went to...I tore my bible in half and soon after in the summer of 1993, became a wiccan.
I'd rather be spiritual than religious.
Even though I didnt actually witness women being treated as inferiors...It always bugged me that adam's complicity in the so called great sin was consistantly overlooked with him being treated as if he couldnt help himself...Pathetic.
Posted by Thomas McHugh on 07/21/2009 @ 05:02PM PT
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Talk about GUTS. Jimmy Carter is a one-of-a-kind human being. I have respected this man over the years for being an ambassador, and for being willing to speak out about important causes. But THIS... wow.
Deborah Laake's book, "Secret Ceremonies" addresses this very issue (among others) in the Mormon church.
I attended many different denominations of churches growing up, including Unitarian and Bahai gatherings. I was fortunate that I was allowed to think for myself, and wasn't told by any church that I was insufficient somehow as a female.
I "lost my religion" a long time ago. Organized religion depresses me. On the other hand, I have a deep spiritual faith and set of beliefs and find God continually in my daily life. I don't have the social pressures to conform to a particular way of thinking or being, I get to be me!
One other quick thought on this: my favorite book, "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne, is about how we have lost track of the original intentions of Christ, and practical ways to live a more meaningful life. No matter what your faith, there is great meaning in this book.
Posted by Romy Carver on 07/22/2009 @ 05:14PM PT
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I was raised Catholic and after a very explosive argument with a nun in my catechism class at the age of 13, I spent the next 10 years trying to figure out where i fit in with religion. I found I didn't. I'm my own person, and what I believe is my own business - and religion is certainly not a factor for me when making choices & decisions. Being a good person, a spiritual being, showing compassion & kindness beyond what some book written thousands of years ago says, is what I'm all about.
Posted by Lisa Smolen on 07/25/2009 @ 07:25AM PT
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My family never had a religion to lose as we always recognized the inequalities that simmer and burn there.
Posted by Michele Rodriguez on 07/28/2009 @ 10:15PM PT
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I have strong spirituality and an irrevocable belief in God; however, I refuse to limit myself to a church, as it seems something like 95% of the ones I've been to are very similar to what Jimmy Carter has experienced when it comes to what the churches deem justified discrimination (remember in the history books, how religion has been used for political control over may peoples over the centuries... as well as "killing in the name of God"). However, if you take out the limitations of denominations and formal religion, the overall message is similar... and that's what's worth exploring!
I originally come from Long Island, NY -- a huge melting pot -- and listened/learned from my friends of different beliefs and religions.... and as a teenager stopped going to the church my parents brought me up in (which was the Episcopal Church - or, as we used to joke about it, "Catholic Step-Down" church), because it seemed the people who got on the proverbial soapbox at the church (and the ones who made it almost every weekend) were often the most hypocritical... as if going to church gave them a free pass to be ugly people every other day of the week.
I moved to NC in 1996, and have been shocked at what I've learned of some of the church teachings down here, in what is still "The Bible Belt" -- discrimination, prejudice, and judgement "in the name of God" (as what Carter says). What disgusts me most is when parents pass that rationalization right down to their children -- and I've seen it firsthand. Funny, how all children start our trusting, and indiscriminately loving, and then they get taught otherwise by their parents and/or their church, which will ruin them as people.
My husband and I have made it a point to talk about faith, God, and spirituality with our children since they were very little, and also about multiple religions and their beliefs. How to be open-minded, and how to accept people as they are. Yet we continue to be amazed at what they've heard from other children they know -- for example, there are these 2 little boys down the block that like to play with my girls (they're several years younger than my girls). The father is very involved in their church... in fact, I think he went to seminary. But the boys once told my girls how they "worried about them" because they didn't go to church, and that we had symbols used by heretics on our house (which, by the way, are Asian symbols for happiness, peace, love, and prosperity on the door). My girls' reply: "Worry about yourselves. We're just fine." My oldest won't even socialize with them anymore, because she finds their continual mention of it annoying and closed-minded. The other one will only go over there every once in awhile.
Anyway, if churches got rid of using the structure as political control in one way or the other, and instead focused on our similarities and universal love and acceptance, I think that would go a long way towards improving the problems we have as a world.
Posted by Angela Coulter on 07/29/2009 @ 09:26AM PT
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